Help challenging my player (3.5)

[erok0809]

So I'm having a bit of an issue in a game I'm running. It's a solo campaign, and the player is a level 10 wizard enchanter, who basically refuses to deal lethal damage to things, and doesn't have any lethally damaging spells. He has almost entirely enchantment spells, with like two illusion spells just to mix it up occasionally. The problem I'm having is that encounters are very polarized; either he's able to finish it in a round or two via charm/dominate if the enemy is not immune to mind-affecting spells, since he's pumped his DC's for enchantment spells, or he is incapable of doing anything helpful at all, because the enemy is immune to mind-affecting spells. He's a squishy wizard, so I can't expect him to fight physically against an undead, for example. I threw a monstrous spider at him, and he had to run, or he was going to die. The only reason he was able to beat a dire bear was because he had a troll ally he charmed into helping him, and two other NPC's he asked help from, and they absorbed the hits. He still has the troll, but the NPCs died, and I'm not trying to have NPCs travel with him constantly to be his party.

Basically, do you have any advice for how to make challenging encounters that aren't going to be deadly? Because if I make something with a super high will save, he becomes useless, but as soon as the enemy fails a will save, the encounter is over. Any help?

[Teapot Salty]

First off, this is for 3.5 right?

Throw a few things at him with spell resistance. Just high enough that his spells go through about half the time, it will make things tense but beatable. Problem is, you are throwing everything into the dice, but spell resistance should help.

[HighWater]

Enchantment is an all-or-nothing school with generally no secondary effects if the primary effect fails. Basically, the best your player can do is precisely what you wish to deny him: enchant others to fight his battles for him. That way, he's not entirely dependent on whether a particular opponent is immune or not. Enchanters are dependant on some amount of minionmancy, or you'll kill him with immune monsters...

Alternatively, don't present any immune monsters, but make it harder to get them to do what your player wants. Most enchantment effects contain clauses that allow for resistance when the demanded tasks are too dangerous or against the nature of the commanded subject...

[Aegis013]

For a single encounter, it could be interesting to have a mastermind opponent who has some strong minions, but the mastermind opponent has an emanated circle of protection vs. (alignment). If the player can use his own minions to get the enemy's minions out of the circle of protection, he can try to charm the other guy's minions. But in the end, he'll need some kind of way to attack the other mastermind (who very well could be another Enchanter if you wanted) without charmed minions, as they will not be charmed inside of the circle of protection.

[ace rooster]

An enchanter PC only really works when the campaign is not combat focused, and is more roleplaying. They can work well as law enforcement in draconian societies and in espionage roles but would not be trusted by anybody that knew their nature.

They can do the army of minions thing to an extent, but would not want to be obvious about their abilities. The sense motive DC to spot a dominated creature is only 15, so expect a reaction as if you were a necromancer who didn't wait till they were dead. Worse, as enchanters can 'frame' somebody exceptionally easily and grant them a fate far worse than death. A necromancer can kill you and your family, but an enchanter can make you kill your family (which you will remember doing, and possibly not know you were enchanted) and leave you alive to face justice (which could be equally brutal). Enchanters do not expect people to be happy to see them.

So, with that in mind, a good campaign for an enchanter might involve power games amongst nobles with the enchanter as a powerful operative that either works for a particular noble or is a free agent. 'Suggesting' that a guard leave his post for some reason so that a charmed thief can get in to a steal a signet ring is a sketch of how an enchanter might work.

A heist is a fairly simple idea for a session. Some time would be spent gathering information on the layout and security arrangements for the target. Maybe introduce a particular thief who has robbed the place before. The starting point for gathering information is the tavern around the corner where some of the guards drink. Maybe have some defenses that would need some direct intervention. It is imperative that your identity is not discovered.

A more advanced session could be about trying to install a mole somewhere, in a way that can handle the DC25 sense motive check for seeing a charm. This would probably involve charming your way to some blackmail material, but it is up to the player how they manage it.

Basically dealing with an enchanter involves an entirely different approach from just throwing dungeons of combat encounters at them, for the reasons you have discovered. The medium an enchanter works in is people, so they function best in social situations. It is going to be hard to DM.

[zingbobco000]

Have in encounters larger, tougher guys who are basically immune to his enchantments and then some minor guys who he is supposed to conquer. The minor guys he should be able to conquer thus putting the game back into balance. Add some role-playing elements as well, like the people who he's controlling rebel against his mind (yes, I know that's the point of the will check) and he has to somehow control them using his powers of... speech...

IDK